Where Medtech Is Headed in 2026: 5 Industry Trends to Follow Closely

Medtech is heading into 2026 with a very different profile than it had even a few years ago.

Much of the energy is clustering around a few clear themes: AI-driven decision support, at-home and near-patient diagnostics, neuromodulation and implants and platforms that speed up cell and vaccine manufacturing.

The startup pipeline tells a similar story. Young companies are building affordable prosthetics and rehab tools, smartphone-powered labs, fertility and women’s health tools, exoskeletons and brain-computer interfaces.

Let’s take a look at some of the major medtech trends shaping 2026, each paired with two real-world examples from 2025 that bring these shifts into focus.

AI Becomes Infrastructure in Medtech

AI is moving from pilot projects into everyday clinical workflows, powering image enhancement, early-warning systems, device optimization and real-time surgical support.

Examples from 2025 Highlighting this Trend:

• Philips’ SmartSpeed Precise, an FDA-cleared deep learning MRI reconstruction tool that speeds up scans while enhancing clarity, showing how AI is now embedded directly into imaging platforms
• FluidAI Medical’s Origin system, an FDA-cleared bedside monitor that tracks surgical drain output in real time and connects to an AI-based decision-support suite for earlier detection of post-operative complications

Connected Devices and Wearables Become the Norm

Connected diagnostics, remote monitoring devices and cloud-linked wearables are becoming standard features of chronic care and perioperative follow-up. Hospitals and patients now expect devices to integrate with apps, dashboards and electronic health records (EHRs) from day one.

Examples from 2025:

• The Felix NeuroAI wristband, cleared by the FDA as a wearable that reads motion and peripheral nerve signals to provide adaptive stimulation for essential tremor
• Dexcom’s updated G7, cleared for a 15-day wear duration in adults, extending continuous glucose monitoring and supporting more stable home-based management of diabetes

Robotics, Digital Surgery and Automation Expand

Robotics is spreading into outpatient centers, endoscopy suites and high-volume orthopedic procedures. At the same time, simulation and digital twin models are reshaping how teams train, plan and optimize device workflows.

Examples from 2025:

• Pixee Medical’s Knee+ NexSight AR guidance system, cleared by the FDA for total knee arthroplasty in ambulatory surgery centers, offering robotic-like precision without a robotic platform or pre-operative imaging
• Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s collaboration with NVIDIA Isaac, using high-fidelity digital twins and AI-driven simulation to advance robotic capabilities for the MONARCH platform in urology

Cybersecurity and Data Governance Move to the Front

With devices becoming more connected and software-heavy, cybersecurity has shifted from an IT topic to a core patient-safety requirement. Expectations around secure design, vulnerability management and transparency are tightening.

Updates from 2025 that Spotlight this Trend:

• The FDA’s final Cybersecurity in Medical Devices guidance, which outlines expectations for secure development, software bill of materials (SBOMs), vulnerability monitoring and end-of-support communication
• The FDA’s AI-Enabled Medical Devices List, actively updated through 2025, now catalogs hundreds of authorized AI tools and links to their decision summaries

Value, Supply Chain Resilience and M&A Shape Strategy

Medtech leaders are using M&A to add digital surgery, robotics and analytics capabilities to their portfolios rather than building everything in-house. Device-plus-software ecosystems are becoming a competitive necessity.

Examples from 2025:

• Zimmer Biomet acquired Monogram Technologies, an AI-driven orthopedic robotics company with semi- and fully autonomous CT-based knee systems, boosting the former’s orthopedic portfolio
• Tempus’ acquisition of AI pathology company Paige to deepen its oncology foundation model, and Sava’s $19 million Series A funding to commercialize a next-gen wearable biosensor, reflecting how capital is chasing AI-native platforms

While this blog highlights the digital and data-driven trends shaping medtech in 2026, innovation is moving across the full spectrum of device development.

Updates in materials and reconstruction technologies continue to advance core engineering, even as AI reshapes design, regulatory insight and clinical decision support.

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